Trust Fund

Section 704 Section 704.214  Trust Fund a)         An owner or operator may satisfy the financial assurance requirement by establishing a trust fund that conforms to the requirements of this Section and submitting an original, signed duplicate of the trust agreement to the Agency.  An owner or operator of a Class I injection well injecting hazardous waste must submit the original, signed duplicate of the trust agreement to the Agency with the permit application or for approval to operate under rule.  The trustee must be an entity that has the authority to act as a trustee and whose trust operations are regulated and examined by a Federal or State agency. b)         The wording of the trust agreement must be as specified in Section 704.240, and the trust agreement must be accompanied by a formal certification of acknowledgment.  Schedule A of the trust agreement must be updated within 60 days after a change in the amount of the current cost estimate covered by the agreement. c)         Payments into the trust fund must be made annually by the owner or operator over the term of the initial permit or over the remaining operating life of the injection well as estimated in the plan, whichever period is shorter; this period is hereafter referred to as the "pay-in period".  The payments into the trust fund must be made as follows: 1)         For a new well, the first payment must be made before the initial injection of hazardous waste.  The owner or operator must submit a receipt to the Agency from the trustee for this payment before the initial injection of hazardous waste.  The first payment must be at least equal to the current cost estimate, except as provided in Section 704.240, divided by the number of years in the pay-in period.  Subsequent payments must be made no later than 30 days after each anniversary date of the first payment.  The amount of each subsequent payment must be determined by this formula: Next Payment = PE - CV YR Where: PE is the current cost estimate CV is the current value of the trust fund Y is the number of years remaining in the pay-in period 2)         If an owner or operator establishes a trust fund as specified in this Section, and the value of that trust fund is less than the current cost estimate when a permit is issued for the injection well, the amount of current cost estimate still to be paid into the trust fund must be paid in over the pay-in period as defined in subsection (c).  Payments must continue to be made no later than 30 days after each anniversary date of the first payment made pursuant to this Part.  The amount of each payment must be determined by this formula: Next Payment = PE - CV YR Where: PE is the current cost estimate CV is the current value of the trust fund Y is the number of years remaining in the pay-in period d)         The owner or operator may accelerate payments into the trust fund or the owner or operator may deposit the full amount of the current cost estimate at the time the fund is established.  However, the owner or operator must maintain the value of the fund at no less than the value that the fund would have if annual payments were made as specified in subsection (c). e)         If the owner or operator establishes a trust fund after having used one or more alternate financial assurance mechanisms, the owner or operator's first payment must be in at least the amount that the fund would contain if the trust fund were established initially and annual payments made according to specifications of this Section. f)         After the pay-in period is completed, whenever the current cost estimate changes the owner or operator must compare the new estimate with the trustee's most recent annual valuation of the trust fund.  If the value of the fund is less than the amount of the new estimate, the owner or operator, within 60 days after the change in the cost estimate, must either deposit an amount into the fund so that its value after this deposit at least equals the amount of the current cost estimate, or obtain other financial assurance to cover the difference. g)         If the value of the trust fund is greater than the total amount of the current cost estimate, the owner or operator may submit a written request to the Agency for release of the amount in excess of the current cost estimate. h)         If an owner or operator substitutes other financial assurance for all or part of the trust fund, the owner or operator may submit a written request to the Agency for release of the amount in excess of the current cost estimate covered by the trust fund. i)          Within 60 days after receiving a request from the owner or operator for release of funds as specified in subsection (g) or (h), the Agency must instruct the trustee to release to the owner or operator such funds as the Agency specifies in writing. j)          After beginning final plugging and abandonment, an owner and operator or any other person authorized to perform plugging and abandonment may request reimbursement for plugging and abandonment expenditures by submitting itemized bills to the Agency.  Within 60 days after receiving bills for plugging and abandonment activities, the Agency must determine whether the plugging and abandonment expenditures are in accordance with the plan or otherwise justified, and if so, it must instruct the trustee to make reimbursement in such amounts as the Agency specifies in writing. If the Agency has reason to believe that the cost of plugging and abandonment will be significantly greater than the value of the trust fund, it may withhold reimbursement of such amounts as it deems prudent until it determines, in accordance with Section 704.222 that the owner or operator is no longer required to maintain financial assurance. k)         The Agency must agree to termination of the trust when either of the following occurs: 1)         The owner or operator substitutes alternate financial assurance; or 2)         The Agency releases the owner or operator in accordance with Section 704.222. BOARD NOTE:  Derived from 40 CFR 144.63(a) (2017).